There is a television ad series that ran over and over and over during the Fall of 2017, particularly during football games. The medieval-set narrative involved characters saying “Dilly, dilly!” Who knows if anyone will even remember this next year?
Several years ago, my family decided to try out live television. We had 6 children living at home. My husband and I had made a choice to limit video to intentional planned viewing. This was before we had teens, who of course blew that out of the water.)
My daughter was 4. She sat on the couch with her favorite blanket and stuffy. We had looked on the TV menu to see when a cartoon would come on that she could watch. She was so absolutely excited! She had chosen her show, her older siblings were at school and her little siblings were asleep. The couch and the TV were hers! Soon the Theme song of “Straw Berry Shortcake starts to Play…”Straw BerBerBerYYY SHORT CAKE!” She started singing and couch dancing, rocking back and forth. I walked away, probably to grab some laundry (I cant remember) She stopped singing. She stopped dancing. She got quiet. I walked back into the room and she was again glued to the show. Okay. I again turned away. In about 7 minutes, a loud and piercing scream caused that horrible chill to run up my spine. I was sure there was a snake in the house or some crazy thing. I ran back in the room and she sat there mad and frustrated with tears running down her face. I asked her, “Dinah, What’s is wrong? Why did you scream? She said, ” My show keeps stopping! This lady keeps cleaning the bathroom! And Strawberry is gone!” My Dinah had never seen a commercial. She was tortured by scrubbing bubbles. AS WE ALL ARE.
I was at my sisters house one day waiting for her to get dressed, we were about to go shopping. As I was in the kitchen getting something to drink I heard a deep voice come from the TV, “keep on sucking!” I shout to my niece who was in the living room “what are you watching?” She says she’s on her phone and wasn’t paying the TV any attention. So I sit on the couch with my beverage and watch TV, low and behold the commercial comes on again……… it was a jolly rancher commercial!
As I was watching tv one day I noticed a commercial that kept coming on. It was of two deer driving in a car along a highway. All of a sudden a man leisurely walks across the road looking down at his phone. The deer blow the horny very loudly and stare at the man as if to say “what are you doing”. The man looks at them for a minute and walks on. The deer shake their heads and then the words Don’t text and drive pop up on the screen. I guess the funny part is that deer are driving and the man is walking across the road texting but the message is clear.
Ha! This is definitely a memorable commercial using humor…good example of something that could be used during a training for a shared humor connection activity.
I did a training on Effective Communication with our staff. I chose to use visuals that did provide some breaks and comic relief. My favorite was this segment from Big Bang Theory regarding Active Listening. 🙂
I recently found my old CDs and was so excited to listen to them in the car on our spring break road trip. My friend and I were singing along and laughing. Our kids asked “where did you get this music” and demanded that we listen to some better songs! Their generation is used to picking songs on demand vs waiting for your favorite song to come on the radio.
I am thinking of Game of Thrones..since it’s such a popular pop culture phenomenon. Emphasizing on the mistakes they make with the Starbucks cup accidentally left on set.. I could potentially set an out of place object in the training room or on set of my online training and see if they can make a connection which in turn hopefully would get a laugh….
I have used a funny thing that happened to me early in my early childhood education teacher career. The center I worked at straight out of had a record player… somewhere we found a few old records. One day I thought I would use it to listen to some music with the children. As I was placing the record on the record player, one of the children asked me if it was a giant CD! Made me feel so old…. funny thing is that today’s little ones have no idea what CDs are…. 🙁 LOL
Ha! Yes, the rapid advancements in technology can often reveal an age gap between teachers and the children in the classroom, and this oh so common experience can provide an instant connection between you and training participants. This story could be easily shared by you in a training in any number of ways.
Funny story I had old VCR player with VCR tapes. The children in my childcare and I were going to watch an old movie Howard the duck so I set the VCR tape out for us to watch. I when up stairs to grab some snacks came back & the children had pulled all the type out of the video & wrapped it around the baby dolls told me they were making babies clothes. They did know what a VCR tapes was and thought it was something they could play with. Kids now days only know about the new technology.
My childcare children & I was going to a watch a movie on VCR video my DVD player had broken so I remember I had old VCR with a good kid move Howard the duck. I took the movie out laid it on table and went to get the VCR player came back & the kids destroyed the VCR tape. I ask why was they pulling the type out of the video? one kid was laid on floor one kid replied Sarah dead & this is caution type don’t walk through tape this is a crime scene and you will be evidence. I laugh
My granddaughter is two and loves to sing. She also loves Skyline Chili, a local favorite with a catchy little commercial. She was singing a Gene Kelly favorite with her umbrella while dancing for me last week – “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling I’m HAPpy again. (gets very excited… speaking of being happy…) Whenever you’re feeling good and hungry, it’s Skyline Time!”
What I think of first was when I pulled out a VHS tape with veggie tales and the three year old children had no idea what it was. When I put it in the VCR it wouldn’t work. When I tried to get it out the tape was caught and it pulled out. The children asked why the monster ate the movie.
My pop culture example:
My daughter wanted a mini printer for her cell phone to print selfies. I just laugh because that is exactly what Polaroid pictures used to do in the `980’s….. except it was a TON cheaper ! I think it would make people laugh just thinking how printing images has literally circled back around.
Here is the website for the instant printer. https://www.polaroid.com/zip-instant
I would think it would be good to go to a thrift store and get an old Polaroid camera and then bring my daughters Polaroid printer and just get a chuckle out of how things change but stay the same.
The commercial advertising Alexa, in which Ellen Degeneres asks “what did we do before we had Alexa?” triggers multiple scenes in periodic history of how tasks were completed which inflates the silliness of what is being done.
Good one, Melanie! The integraton of these technology hubs in households is sooo widespread right now that using this idea in a training activity with these “young-uns” (youth leaders) at your CEP sites is sure to strike a chord!! And you might even impress them with your tech-knowledge-y (lol and bad puns!!!).
Working from home through the corona virus, and being quarantined with children I have discovered the new pop culture use of memes. At first, I didn’t understand the references to some of the clips of art, but I found this one that I can relate with. Watching Maury was a way of spending time with my kids back in the day and I used this meme to reflect upon those memories. Hope you enjoy! https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1797406-maury-lie-detector
Ha! Covid-19 quarantine meme that also hits on classic daytime TV staple Maury Povich…this is great and ripe for humorous connections for your training participants.
I had the TV on CNN in the family room but I left the room for a minute, I heard the reporter say, “Oh my GOD I ain’t messing with you!” I went back in the room. He was filming at Yellowstone National Park and saw a herd of Bison approaching him he pack up his equipment and drove away. His face said everything FEAR! (hilarious).
Warnell Jackson
April 13 2020
Hey, Nell!! I remember that buffalo charge video, too. That is definitely something lots of people have seen recently that could be used in a training to share a laugh!!
COVID-19 has brought a lot of challenges for many of us who find ourselves in essential roles. This meme describes most how I feel about having to manage all the procedure changes.
That Chris Farley meme on 35th policy change – ha! Even if people are too young/old to remember those actual movies he was in, he cracks you up just to see him like that!
The campaign that came to my mind first was a very popular series of commercials about Snickers candy bars. It had a scenario with a well-known person acting “hangry” which is cranky or inept in a particular situation and after eating a candy bar, they turned back into their regular self. The tag line was ” You’re not you when you’re hungry” . My favorite was the one with Betty White. https://youtu.be/OTPJYZLD6L8
It was always fun to see which actors played the before and after person. There was a lot of humor in these spots and they definitely were memorable… so much so that the campaign extended to the wrappers of the candy bars which sometimes displayed words like hangry, whiny, snippy, grouchy, and more to describe the “before snickers” behavior. https://www.popsugar.com/food/New-Snarky-Snickers-Captions-Capture-Every-Feeling-43686273
I thought this could be used to inject some humor in training in a variety of ways when talking about behavior, Maslow’s Hierarchy, teamwork, or especially now during COVID when we are very focused on mental health, caring for our co-workers, and self-care. You could watch the video(s) and see examples of the wrappers and have participants either discuss some “hangry” behaviors they have seen, or they could design a wrapper describing how they feel in that situation.
Kathy Hogg
PS- writing about this made me think about Snickers, and I had go buy one at lunchtime today!
Hey, Kathy! I TOTALLY remember that Snickers campaign…and using it to talk about the Maslow’s hierarchy as it relates to kids, teachers and basic needs would be GOLD in a training!
When I conduct trainings on how to reduce stress and improve your mental health while at work, I often incorporate funny memes within my power point. I love to use pictures of animals or young children (particularly since I work in the early childhood education field)
My children and I were visiting my Mom and as Grandma’s do she wanted to fix us lunch.
She was preparing sandwiches and my 4 year old son said ” Mamaw, we only eat cholesterol free mayo on our sandwiches. I looked at him and asked “how did he know what cholesterol free mayo was?”
His reply “TV.”
Fast forward 25 years….
He is an Emergency room physician and I’m on a daily cholesterol pill. Maybe I should have LISTENED to my 4 year old. hahahaha
Yes, Jennifer! Using things young children see on TV and then talk about with adults is a great source of humor that could be used in a training…in your Application Activity, you reference a Nutrition/Family Style Dining training. How might you use this or some other TV pop culture item for this training?
I was conducting a staff meeting and we were using #happy. Being old I told them to share it on social media with “pound” happy. Even my oldest staff members made fun of me for not knowing it was a “hashtag.” I will never live this down and it constantly comes up in conversations!
Ha! Yup, that tech jargon is always changing…what a great source of humor connections that can be used in a training! (And I remember when I used to call it “tic tac toe board” before I learned to call it “pound” – lol)
The first thing that comes to mind for me is, my parents got married recently, after 25 years! They had a small ceremony with no photographer. During the “reception” my mom pulls out a disposable camera. My 15 year old nephew looks at her and says “what is that thing nana!? We all bust out laughing and explain to him that there once was a time that we did not use our cell phones for every single thing, like taking pictures.
Yes, with the always changing technology, it’s easy to recall ourselves in a “tech gap” that can be explored/shared during a training for a humorous connection moment!!
My 3 year old was constantly talking about Ryan. I had no idea who Ryan was, let alone Combo or Gus…I thought he had imaginary friends, until I was sitting next to him one day while he impressed me using his Kindle and maneuvering to YouTube and Ryan’s World. It is amazing how quickly these kids pick up technology. They can use it better then us!
Ha! Young children do often surprise us with what they learn to do with technology…this idea would certainly resonate with training participants if you used it as part of a humorous training activity.
Several years ago my children would constantly come to me for technology issues. They were in middle and high school. I told them it was suppose to be the other way around. Now it has been a few more years….the times have changed. I go to them. I think I can do it, but I got them, might as well use them! ha
Many years ago there was a Wendy’s commercial. It featured two elderly women at a drive thru. When they got their order, one of the says “Where’s the beef”. I remember how everyone was going around saying that! It still makes me laugh.
Ha! I remember that one – it was HUGE!!! I’ve even seen it as a meme on the internet recently. You certainly could use it as a humorous touchpoint in a training!!
When teaching any course on reinforcement strategies, this is my favorite go-to funny video. Not to mention, Big Bang theory is still culturally relevant.
Similar to the trainers YouTube Pokemon reference….I have a picture from our vacation to the beach where my 3 teenagers are sitting on the coach ALL looking down at their phones, while you can see the gorgeous Oceanview from the door next to them.
As I think about things I might share with early childhood professionals, in a training…this photo might give some humor when possibly discussing how important it is to watch and observe the children or you might miss something. I also just thought of that scene from Kindergarten Cop, where a teacher says to the cop….”teaching kindergarten is like the wan. you don’t want to turn your back on it.”
The sour patch videos ALWAYS make me laugh. I use these to break the ice with a new group of individuals. It’s attention grabbing. They remind you of toddlers in childcare.
I have not done this personally but an idea that comes to mind with older preschoolers could be cooking popcorn. This could be science as well as safety and a while lot of other things. But just watching their face in amazement as you do it the old fashion way on the stovetop versus the microwave and then telling stories of when we were young versus now.
I have not done this personally but an idea that comes to mind with older preschoolers could be cooking popcorn. This could be science as well as safety and a while lot of other things. But just watching their face in amazement as you do it the old fashion way on the stovetop versus the microwave and then telling stories of when we were young versus now.
I have used the Liberty Mutual Insurance commerical ” only pay for what you need”. Made reference to the Limu being the participant. At the time I had a person’s face on the Limu to represent the participant. I cannot find it now, but hopefully you get the point.
In my efforts to adopt a lifestyle that reflects the minimalist theory, one thing I have to be careful about is restricting my purchase of books, magazines, and/or apps that relate to the subject.
Here’s a clip I’ve used in my training before. It is in regards to encouraging our staff to involve our families and including them to be advocates for their child’s education. Afterwards we discussed that sometimes we educators feel that these are the kinds of requests and responses that we get from families. Everyone could relate, it broke up the monotony, and also provided another instructional mode for our visual adult learners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyobsvs-ljo&t=49s
houseonmillandhill
I saw this on facebook it is a instagram post of a little girl about 4
107,307 likes
houseonmillandhill
What did you just bring in?. She said the cat has something and I’m going to go see what it is. She came in and said it was a snake, and I was completely dumb founded that she would actually be holding it! I stopped what I was doing and thankfully my phone was sitting right next to me. I thought I might die though when I had to catch it after she realized it wasn’t dead, and safely put it out into our woods. No worries y’all it was a completely harmless garter snake.
Ruth – Wow !!!!!! Must see I laughed , cringed and got mad.
I have a picture of a hamster I have shared with staff where his hair is everywhere and he states that yes he is stressed. I use that picture in a humorous way to comfort staff that everyone has stressful moments and that it is okay, we just need to ask for help.
I would ask the participants to find the first funny picture in their phones. I would asked them to think about how it make them feel. Sharing would be optional. I would share a funny of picture of myself and how it make me feel. I would remind my participants that people might forget what you tell them but they will not forget how you make them feel. I would encourage them to always lead with a smile and a joyful heart.
We recently found an old rotary phone in the garage of a relative. I asked my 14 year old son if he could show me how to dial my cell phone number on it. It took him nearly 10 minutes of trial and error to figure out how to dial my number. He said it would take way to long to every call anyone and he would’ve never used a phone like that. LOL https://youtu.be/uaQm30DDHL8
I love using the video staying alive by the Bee Geez when I am teaching CPR class! https://youtu.be/I_izvAbhExY . Most of my students tend to remember the office episode… https://youtu.be/8SbpT_6vjCc. Both seem to bring a more relaxed environment before skilling out on the manikins.
My favorite video used during a training in early childhood education about Music and Movement https://youtu.be/8apLM6XhEpc. It always brings home how children love to listen to music and dance. It always gets a good laugh from the participants, especially when the little girl finally gets Alexa to play “Baby Shark”
My favorite video I use in a lot of trainings is Good Team Work and Bad Team Work on You Tube. Use the title Good teamwork and bad teamwork and it will go straight to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBbrpemT7k8
In this commercial, the adults are dancing with their “infant/toddler” selves. This would be a great introduction into how sometimes we have to pull out our inner child in order to provide meaningful and joyous play for the children’s developmental needs.
I try to use current marketing ads of merchandise/products that resonate with the participants to interject humor into the workshop. These seem to be recognizable and relatable. I have learned a lot of ideas reading the previous posts; thanks to everyone for sharing.
In this photo, we decided to take a family photo at my son’s wedding. The wedding was on our farm so we found a spot that would capture the beautiful land. What we didn’t expect was to have our “friendly” cattle join the photo shoot!
There was a small period of time where “Bob Ross Memes” were big. During that time, I had seen someone post a Bob Ross picture with a caption “There are no bad kids. Only happy little classroom challenges.” This is a play on his quote “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”
A lot of people at the time thought that my adding this meme to our monthly meetings was hilarious, but now it seems to go over new staff’s head because it has no pop cultural relevance.
Any and all things Tik Tok, Right now society seems to be obsessed with the latest challenge, dance, or story. I use the awareness test aka Moonwalking bear when training on diversity and paying attention when observing.
I tell a story of one of my three year old daycare children who would come in each morning wearing little high heels and shades doing her Taylor Swift strut with her little purse hanging on her elbow and point out who she was going to play with that morning.
I like using this video in trainings because no matter how many times the participants might have seen it, it is still enjoyable….and there is always at least one person who has never seen it before. DJ Pryor was the keynote speaker at Naeyc last year. He said the main reason he likes to get his story out there, is because people always say that dad’s do not normally know how to interact with small children. He wants it to become the norm. This video adds humor and cuteness into many different topics……family involvement, language/literacy, social/emotional……and so many more.
I bought a new outfit from Temu. I loved it until I turned around and looked at the back. There was nothing I could do it was to late I had to get to my center. When I arrived I went into the infant room. The teachers complimented my new outfit. I said, “There is only one problem.” I then turned around a the bagginess of my jumpsuit caught them by surprise. I said, “it looks like a I have a dirty diaper bagging.” The teachers all laughed and agreed. They laughed every time they saw me that day. I will wear it again because above all else it was comfortable.
Ask your participants to pretend they’re texting Taylor Swift for advice on how to handle a tricky situation in childcare. Encourage them to use Taylor Swift’s lyrics to add a touch of humor.
For example: Just Shake It Off! Sometimes things are unpredictable.
Once, when I helped facilitate a training on safe sleep practices we used this video of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Ernie sings about how he can’t sleep and makes all this noise that keeps Bert awake. Eventually some tap dancing sheep pick up Bert and take him outside. It’s a silly but catchy tune and help makes the point that sometimes nap time is hard – plus sheep are not a safe sleep practice!
There is a television ad series that ran over and over and over during the Fall of 2017, particularly during football games. The medieval-set narrative involved characters saying “Dilly, dilly!” Who knows if anyone will even remember this next year?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-dilly-dilly-bud-light-origins-20180131-story.html
In reference to understanding expectations:
Several years ago, my family decided to try out live television. We had 6 children living at home. My husband and I had made a choice to limit video to intentional planned viewing. This was before we had teens, who of course blew that out of the water.)
My daughter was 4. She sat on the couch with her favorite blanket and stuffy. We had looked on the TV menu to see when a cartoon would come on that she could watch. She was so absolutely excited! She had chosen her show, her older siblings were at school and her little siblings were asleep. The couch and the TV were hers! Soon the Theme song of “Straw Berry Shortcake starts to Play…”Straw BerBerBerYYY SHORT CAKE!” She started singing and couch dancing, rocking back and forth. I walked away, probably to grab some laundry (I cant remember) She stopped singing. She stopped dancing. She got quiet. I walked back into the room and she was again glued to the show. Okay. I again turned away. In about 7 minutes, a loud and piercing scream caused that horrible chill to run up my spine. I was sure there was a snake in the house or some crazy thing. I ran back in the room and she sat there mad and frustrated with tears running down her face. I asked her, “Dinah, What’s is wrong? Why did you scream? She said, ” My show keeps stopping! This lady keeps cleaning the bathroom! And Strawberry is gone!” My Dinah had never seen a commercial. She was tortured by scrubbing bubbles. AS WE ALL ARE.
This is a true story.
I was at my sisters house one day waiting for her to get dressed, we were about to go shopping. As I was in the kitchen getting something to drink I heard a deep voice come from the TV, “keep on sucking!” I shout to my niece who was in the living room “what are you watching?” She says she’s on her phone and wasn’t paying the TV any attention. So I sit on the couch with my beverage and watch TV, low and behold the commercial comes on again……… it was a jolly rancher commercial!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT-a_SXgvu8
Wow! What a jolting intro to that Jolly Rancher commercial for you…and they succeeded at making an impression on you! Good example.
As I was watching tv one day I noticed a commercial that kept coming on. It was of two deer driving in a car along a highway. All of a sudden a man leisurely walks across the road looking down at his phone. The deer blow the horny very loudly and stare at the man as if to say “what are you doing”. The man looks at them for a minute and walks on. The deer shake their heads and then the words Don’t text and drive pop up on the screen. I guess the funny part is that deer are driving and the man is walking across the road texting but the message is clear.
this goes along with my post
https://www.ispot.tv/ad7ciC/nhtsa-stop-text-driving-deer
Ha! This is definitely a memorable commercial using humor…good example of something that could be used during a training for a shared humor connection activity.
I did a training on Effective Communication with our staff. I chose to use visuals that did provide some breaks and comic relief. My favorite was this segment from Big Bang Theory regarding Active Listening. 🙂
https://youtu.be/a91T8MdXXMc
I recently found my old CDs and was so excited to listen to them in the car on our spring break road trip. My friend and I were singing along and laughing. Our kids asked “where did you get this music” and demanded that we listen to some better songs! Their generation is used to picking songs on demand vs waiting for your favorite song to come on the radio.
I am thinking of Game of Thrones..since it’s such a popular pop culture phenomenon. Emphasizing on the mistakes they make with the Starbucks cup accidentally left on set.. I could potentially set an out of place object in the training room or on set of my online training and see if they can make a connection which in turn hopefully would get a laugh….
Ha! Excellent choice – and this could lead to a good laugh during a “safety in the classroom” training…
I have used a funny thing that happened to me early in my early childhood education teacher career. The center I worked at straight out of had a record player… somewhere we found a few old records. One day I thought I would use it to listen to some music with the children. As I was placing the record on the record player, one of the children asked me if it was a giant CD! Made me feel so old…. funny thing is that today’s little ones have no idea what CDs are…. 🙁 LOL
Ha! Yes, the rapid advancements in technology can often reveal an age gap between teachers and the children in the classroom, and this oh so common experience can provide an instant connection between you and training participants. This story could be easily shared by you in a training in any number of ways.
Funny story I had old VCR player with VCR tapes. The children in my childcare and I were going to watch an old movie Howard the duck so I set the VCR tape out for us to watch. I when up stairs to grab some snacks came back & the children had pulled all the type out of the video & wrapped it around the baby dolls told me they were making babies clothes. They did know what a VCR tapes was and thought it was something they could play with. Kids now days only know about the new technology.
Ha! Yes, Tangalita, outdated technology and young children not understanding what it is or how to use it is a constant source of humor.
My childcare children & I was going to a watch a movie on VCR video my DVD player had broken so I remember I had old VCR with a good kid move Howard the duck. I took the movie out laid it on table and went to get the VCR player came back & the kids destroyed the VCR tape. I ask why was they pulling the type out of the video? one kid was laid on floor one kid replied Sarah dead & this is caution type don’t walk through tape this is a crime scene and you will be evidence. I laugh
My granddaughter is two and loves to sing. She also loves Skyline Chili, a local favorite with a catchy little commercial. She was singing a Gene Kelly favorite with her umbrella while dancing for me last week – “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling I’m HAPpy again. (gets very excited… speaking of being happy…) Whenever you’re feeling good and hungry, it’s Skyline Time!”
The jingle, not a film of the granddaughter – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiVzMM4-6Ws
loved reading everyone’s comments
What I think of first was when I pulled out a VHS tape with veggie tales and the three year old children had no idea what it was. When I put it in the VCR it wouldn’t work. When I tried to get it out the tape was caught and it pulled out. The children asked why the monster ate the movie.
My pop culture example:
My daughter wanted a mini printer for her cell phone to print selfies. I just laugh because that is exactly what Polaroid pictures used to do in the `980’s….. except it was a TON cheaper ! I think it would make people laugh just thinking how printing images has literally circled back around.
Here is the website for the instant printer.
https://www.polaroid.com/zip-instant
I would think it would be good to go to a thrift store and get an old Polaroid camera and then bring my daughters Polaroid printer and just get a chuckle out of how things change but stay the same.
Mindy! This is a good way to tie in selfies and technology developments for a humorous encounter. And who knows what will replace selfies in time!!
The commercial advertising Alexa, in which Ellen Degeneres asks “what did we do before we had Alexa?” triggers multiple scenes in periodic history of how tasks were completed which inflates the silliness of what is being done.
Good one, Melanie! The integraton of these technology hubs in households is sooo widespread right now that using this idea in a training activity with these “young-uns” (youth leaders) at your CEP sites is sure to strike a chord!! And you might even impress them with your tech-knowledge-y (lol and bad puns!!!).
Working from home through the corona virus, and being quarantined with children I have discovered the new pop culture use of memes. At first, I didn’t understand the references to some of the clips of art, but I found this one that I can relate with. Watching Maury was a way of spending time with my kids back in the day and I used this meme to reflect upon those memories. Hope you enjoy!
https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1797406-maury-lie-detector
Ha! Covid-19 quarantine meme that also hits on classic daytime TV staple Maury Povich…this is great and ripe for humorous connections for your training participants.
I had the TV on CNN in the family room but I left the room for a minute, I heard the reporter say, “Oh my GOD I ain’t messing with you!” I went back in the room. He was filming at Yellowstone National Park and saw a herd of Bison approaching him he pack up his equipment and drove away. His face said everything FEAR! (hilarious).
Warnell Jackson
April 13 2020
Hey, Nell!! I remember that buffalo charge video, too. That is definitely something lots of people have seen recently that could be used in a training to share a laugh!!
COVID-19 has brought a lot of challenges for many of us who find ourselves in essential roles. This meme describes most how I feel about having to manage all the procedure changes.
https://www.chron.com/houston/article/Hilarious-memes-that-describe-essential-worker-15199577.php#photo-19296012
That Chris Farley meme on 35th policy change – ha! Even if people are too young/old to remember those actual movies he was in, he cracks you up just to see him like that!
The campaign that came to my mind first was a very popular series of commercials about Snickers candy bars. It had a scenario with a well-known person acting “hangry” which is cranky or inept in a particular situation and after eating a candy bar, they turned back into their regular self. The tag line was ” You’re not you when you’re hungry” . My favorite was the one with Betty White. https://youtu.be/OTPJYZLD6L8
It was always fun to see which actors played the before and after person. There was a lot of humor in these spots and they definitely were memorable… so much so that the campaign extended to the wrappers of the candy bars which sometimes displayed words like hangry, whiny, snippy, grouchy, and more to describe the “before snickers” behavior.
https://www.popsugar.com/food/New-Snarky-Snickers-Captions-Capture-Every-Feeling-43686273
I thought this could be used to inject some humor in training in a variety of ways when talking about behavior, Maslow’s Hierarchy, teamwork, or especially now during COVID when we are very focused on mental health, caring for our co-workers, and self-care. You could watch the video(s) and see examples of the wrappers and have participants either discuss some “hangry” behaviors they have seen, or they could design a wrapper describing how they feel in that situation.
Kathy Hogg
PS- writing about this made me think about Snickers, and I had go buy one at lunchtime today!
Hey, Kathy! I TOTALLY remember that Snickers campaign…and using it to talk about the Maslow’s hierarchy as it relates to kids, teachers and basic needs would be GOLD in a training!
When I conduct trainings on how to reduce stress and improve your mental health while at work, I often incorporate funny memes within my power point. I love to use pictures of animals or young children (particularly since I work in the early childhood education field)
My children and I were visiting my Mom and as Grandma’s do she wanted to fix us lunch.
She was preparing sandwiches and my 4 year old son said ” Mamaw, we only eat cholesterol free mayo on our sandwiches. I looked at him and asked “how did he know what cholesterol free mayo was?”
His reply “TV.”
Fast forward 25 years….
He is an Emergency room physician and I’m on a daily cholesterol pill. Maybe I should have LISTENED to my 4 year old. hahahaha
Yes, Jennifer! Using things young children see on TV and then talk about with adults is a great source of humor that could be used in a training…in your Application Activity, you reference a Nutrition/Family Style Dining training. How might you use this or some other TV pop culture item for this training?
I was conducting a staff meeting and we were using #happy. Being old I told them to share it on social media with “pound” happy. Even my oldest staff members made fun of me for not knowing it was a “hashtag.” I will never live this down and it constantly comes up in conversations!
Ha! Yup, that tech jargon is always changing…what a great source of humor connections that can be used in a training! (And I remember when I used to call it “tic tac toe board” before I learned to call it “pound” – lol)
The first thing that comes to mind for me is, my parents got married recently, after 25 years! They had a small ceremony with no photographer. During the “reception” my mom pulls out a disposable camera. My 15 year old nephew looks at her and says “what is that thing nana!? We all bust out laughing and explain to him that there once was a time that we did not use our cell phones for every single thing, like taking pictures.
Yes, with the always changing technology, it’s easy to recall ourselves in a “tech gap” that can be explored/shared during a training for a humorous connection moment!!
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoybook.com%2Fnickelodeon-expands-its-partnership-with-pocket-watch-for-ryans-world-licensing%2F&psig=AOvVaw3dDVrdvHwsE8kOf3nfO2BZ&ust=1612537802706000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPDoz8nB0O4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAK
My 3 year old was constantly talking about Ryan. I had no idea who Ryan was, let alone Combo or Gus…I thought he had imaginary friends, until I was sitting next to him one day while he impressed me using his Kindle and maneuvering to YouTube and Ryan’s World. It is amazing how quickly these kids pick up technology. They can use it better then us!
Ha! Young children do often surprise us with what they learn to do with technology…this idea would certainly resonate with training participants if you used it as part of a humorous training activity.
Several years ago my children would constantly come to me for technology issues. They were in middle and high school. I told them it was suppose to be the other way around. Now it has been a few more years….the times have changed. I go to them. I think I can do it, but I got them, might as well use them! ha
Many years ago there was a Wendy’s commercial. It featured two elderly women at a drive thru. When they got their order, one of the says “Where’s the beef”. I remember how everyone was going around saying that! It still makes me laugh.
Ha! I remember that one – it was HUGE!!! I’ve even seen it as a meme on the internet recently. You certainly could use it as a humorous touchpoint in a training!!
https://youtu.be/JA96Fba-WHk
When teaching any course on reinforcement strategies, this is my favorite go-to funny video. Not to mention, Big Bang theory is still culturally relevant.
Similar to the trainers YouTube Pokemon reference….I have a picture from our vacation to the beach where my 3 teenagers are sitting on the coach ALL looking down at their phones, while you can see the gorgeous Oceanview from the door next to them.
As I think about things I might share with early childhood professionals, in a training…this photo might give some humor when possibly discussing how important it is to watch and observe the children or you might miss something. I also just thought of that scene from Kindergarten Cop, where a teacher says to the cop….”teaching kindergarten is like the wan. you don’t want to turn your back on it.”
The sour patch videos ALWAYS make me laugh. I use these to break the ice with a new group of individuals. It’s attention grabbing. They remind you of toddlers in childcare.
https://youtu.be/7UPyOJ2nSwI
I have not done this personally but an idea that comes to mind with older preschoolers could be cooking popcorn. This could be science as well as safety and a while lot of other things. But just watching their face in amazement as you do it the old fashion way on the stovetop versus the microwave and then telling stories of when we were young versus now.
I have not done this personally but an idea that comes to mind with older preschoolers could be cooking popcorn. This could be science as well as safety and a while lot of other things. But just watching their face in amazement as you do it the old fashion way on the stovetop versus the microwave and then telling stories of when we were young versus now.
I have used the Liberty Mutual Insurance commerical ” only pay for what you need”. Made reference to the Limu being the participant. At the time I had a person’s face on the Limu to represent the participant. I cannot find it now, but hopefully you get the point.
In my efforts to adopt a lifestyle that reflects the minimalist theory, one thing I have to be careful about is restricting my purchase of books, magazines, and/or apps that relate to the subject.
Here’s a clip I’ve used in my training before. It is in regards to encouraging our staff to involve our families and including them to be advocates for their child’s education. Afterwards we discussed that sometimes we educators feel that these are the kinds of requests and responses that we get from families. Everyone could relate, it broke up the monotony, and also provided another instructional mode for our visual adult learners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyobsvs-ljo&t=49s
houseonmillandhill
I saw this on facebook it is a instagram post of a little girl about 4
107,307 likes
houseonmillandhill
What did you just bring in?. She said the cat has something and I’m going to go see what it is. She came in and said it was a snake, and I was completely dumb founded that she would actually be holding it! I stopped what I was doing and thankfully my phone was sitting right next to me. I thought I might die though when I had to catch it after she realized it wasn’t dead, and safely put it out into our woods. No worries y’all it was a completely harmless garter snake.
Ruth – Wow !!!!!! Must see I laughed , cringed and got mad.
#snakes #snakesandkids #gartersnake #snakesinhouses #kids #notmykid #whatdoesshehave #littlegirl #toughkid #daddysproud #wth #notdiy #almostdied
I have a picture of a hamster I have shared with staff where his hair is everywhere and he states that yes he is stressed. I use that picture in a humorous way to comfort staff that everyone has stressful moments and that it is okay, we just need to ask for help.
I would ask the participants to find the first funny picture in their phones. I would asked them to think about how it make them feel. Sharing would be optional. I would share a funny of picture of myself and how it make me feel. I would remind my participants that people might forget what you tell them but they will not forget how you make them feel. I would encourage them to always lead with a smile and a joyful heart.
We recently found an old rotary phone in the garage of a relative. I asked my 14 year old son if he could show me how to dial my cell phone number on it. It took him nearly 10 minutes of trial and error to figure out how to dial my number. He said it would take way to long to every call anyone and he would’ve never used a phone like that. LOL
https://youtu.be/uaQm30DDHL8
I love using the video staying alive by the Bee Geez when I am teaching CPR class! https://youtu.be/I_izvAbhExY . Most of my students tend to remember the office episode… https://youtu.be/8SbpT_6vjCc. Both seem to bring a more relaxed environment before skilling out on the manikins.
My favorite video used during a training in early childhood education about Music and Movement https://youtu.be/8apLM6XhEpc. It always brings home how children love to listen to music and dance. It always gets a good laugh from the participants, especially when the little girl finally gets Alexa to play “Baby Shark”
My favorite video I use in a lot of trainings is Good Team Work and Bad Team Work on You Tube. Use the title Good teamwork and bad teamwork and it will go straight to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBbrpemT7k8
In this commercial, the adults are dancing with their “infant/toddler” selves. This would be a great introduction into how sometimes we have to pull out our inner child in order to provide meaningful and joyous play for the children’s developmental needs.
I try to use current marketing ads of merchandise/products that resonate with the participants to interject humor into the workshop. These seem to be recognizable and relatable. I have learned a lot of ideas reading the previous posts; thanks to everyone for sharing.
I really struggle with the # sign. I often catch myself saying the pound sign instead of hashtag! My children find a lot of humor in this.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=aSGlThi0&id=CE561EDD1FB7F330F58F3EB61980FC31D778AEF6&thid=OIP.aSGlThi0nsxojAtcai5HNwHaKp&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.6921a54e18b49ecc688c0b5c6a2e4737%3frik%3d9q541zH8gBm2Pg%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fcdn-webimages.wimages.net%252f05181f958a8cf04913122727e98b8ce13f0f96-wm.jpg%253fv%253d3%26ehk%3dnJcJONJsVkEC%252fH0n4CBfTavEpS8W%252fDDGXDWUjJDlqF4%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=920&expw=640&q=hastag+vs+pound&simid=608032468963704657&FORM=IRPRST&ck=F8A46A6B355B929DCF300904FBD270E6&selectedIndex=68&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
In this photo, we decided to take a family photo at my son’s wedding. The wedding was on our farm so we found a spot that would capture the beautiful land. What we didn’t expect was to have our “friendly” cattle join the photo shoot!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=c9fff6a81c&attid=0.1.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1767877500499842250&th=1888c33857b2d4ca&view=fimg&fur=ip&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ_79uq_q0Omvj7QdjVHnE_WJjvmhXGDeCX-QkG8GooZvgZE1TX1XtFixapeDLmTT3njAuJaJ5l9STLnMFuC05_r3riXk0Z7T6t_vVVCy46mJqWch4WYCW_xuUc&disp=emb
There was a small period of time where “Bob Ross Memes” were big. During that time, I had seen someone post a Bob Ross picture with a caption “There are no bad kids. Only happy little classroom challenges.” This is a play on his quote “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”
A lot of people at the time thought that my adding this meme to our monthly meetings was hilarious, but now it seems to go over new staff’s head because it has no pop cultural relevance.
Any and all things Tik Tok, Right now society seems to be obsessed with the latest challenge, dance, or story. I use the awareness test aka Moonwalking bear when training on diversity and paying attention when observing.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14144186323547830/
Bluey is a great Pop Culture Connection that is currently relevant with participants.
I tell a story of one of my three year old daycare children who would come in each morning wearing little high heels and shades doing her Taylor Swift strut with her little purse hanging on her elbow and point out who she was going to play with that morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY35eXTKVLY&t=6s
I like using this video in trainings because no matter how many times the participants might have seen it, it is still enjoyable….and there is always at least one person who has never seen it before. DJ Pryor was the keynote speaker at Naeyc last year. He said the main reason he likes to get his story out there, is because people always say that dad’s do not normally know how to interact with small children. He wants it to become the norm. This video adds humor and cuteness into many different topics……family involvement, language/literacy, social/emotional……and so many more.
I bought a new outfit from Temu. I loved it until I turned around and looked at the back. There was nothing I could do it was to late I had to get to my center. When I arrived I went into the infant room. The teachers complimented my new outfit. I said, “There is only one problem.” I then turned around a the bagginess of my jumpsuit caught them by surprise. I said, “it looks like a I have a dirty diaper bagging.” The teachers all laughed and agreed. They laughed every time they saw me that day. I will wear it again because above all else it was comfortable.
I would say “Swifites” are a new pop culture idea. Click the link to see the many daily expressions while at school Taylor Swift version
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.YoX_BIc72j2JWBzPm_BvtwAAAA?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain
Where did they all go. I can’t find any pokemon!
Ask your participants to pretend they’re texting Taylor Swift for advice on how to handle a tricky situation in childcare. Encourage them to use Taylor Swift’s lyrics to add a touch of humor.
For example: Just Shake It Off! Sometimes things are unpredictable.
Once, when I helped facilitate a training on safe sleep practices we used this video of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Ernie sings about how he can’t sleep and makes all this noise that keeps Bert awake. Eventually some tap dancing sheep pick up Bert and take him outside. It’s a silly but catchy tune and help makes the point that sometimes nap time is hard – plus sheep are not a safe sleep practice!
https://youtu.be/biAMh-xdvJc?si=MgTW-j6pO75x3KJj
“Dance Myself To Sleep”